The invention is a reflective dead angle vision device for vehicle side mirrors that provides a line of sight for the driver that includes the zone adjacent to the outer periphery of the two front tires and thereby increases driving safety. The main components of the invention are a housing having two movable transparent plates, one in the front and the other in the rear; two pivoting rectangular wide-angle mirrors located so as to reflect through the transparent plates; a light bulb that reflects on the mirrors to provide forward illumination during both day and night; two hook-type mounting arms extend from the top of the rear side of the housing to provide a means of installation onto the upper surface of a side mirror; and two flat rubber cushions are glued to the top of the housing for securing it to the lower section of the side mirror. The mirror positioned in the rear corner within the housing reflects the image of the zone adjacent to the outer periphery of the front two tires to the mirror positioned in the front corner to provide the driver of the automobile with a line of sight that includes the dead angle projecting laterally past the two front tires, thereby insuring driving safety.
Although the driving ability of most people has continuously improved, public traffic equipment has failed to meet the requirements of a busy modern industrial society. The number of personal-use compact vehicles has multiplied. With so many people driving, the ability to see other motor vehicles has become the largest determinate of driving safety. There are numerous reasons for traffic accidents that occur while driving, for example many accidents occur when a driver attempts to overtake another vehicle or executes a turn that involves the area around the two front tires. One of the factors in these accidents is that the driver's seat is located on the left side, which leads to the presence of many dead angles in the line of vision to the right side. As frequently observed in other countries when a vehicle is driving in the right heavy vehicle lane of a road and encroaches into the motorcycle lane, transforming it into a lane with both heavy vehicles and motorcycles. Such a situation requires the driver to avoid motorcycles based on experience, however, a single misjudgment often results in a collision that causes serious injuries. Even in a situation where the execution of a turn is apparently successful, accidental impact to the side of the right tire may occur resulting in damage to the automobile necessitating costly repairs with the cause usually related to dead angles. The dead angles at the front of a vehicle pose a major vision problem for drivers and are a major factor in motor vehicle safety, especially as it relates to attempting to overtake another vehicle, which increases the probability of a traffic accident that will injure. Therefore, the visual impairment due to dead angles is a problem that can not be neglected.
Therefore, in view of the aforementioned adverse shortcomings attributed to the dead angle limiting the line of visual perception along the sides of the two front tires of a conventional automobile and in consideration of numerous years of continuous design experience, specifically in a field involving the improved design of reflective dead angle vision devices. This invention was developed following the trial application and testing of several prototypes. The invention herein is hereby submitted in formal application for a patent.